Saving Me
by victoria92179
Summary: Set during the Wutai war. Both Zack and Cloud are on separate missions and are only able to communicate using their cell phones. What happens when somthing bad happens to Cloud and Zack isn't there. Cloud x Tifa, and Cloud/Zack friendship.
1. Chapter 1

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_If everyone cared and nobody cried  
If everyone loved and nobody lied  
If everyone shared and swallowed their pride  
Then we'd see the day when nobody died_

If Everyone Cared- Nickelback

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"Hello," Cloud spoke into his cell phone. "I would like to speak with Lieutenant Fair."

Moments later, a familiar voice hollered back from the other side of the phone. "Spike! How are you?"

"I'm good," the blond teenager replied. "I just got done with a mission."

"What'd you have to do?"

"My group got to scare away a small group of recon warriors."

"Awesome!" Zack yelled, causing Cloud to pull the phone a foot away from his ear. "Did, they put up a fight?"

"Yep," he replied, "but we killed a lot of them"

"Oh…" Zack said, sounding a little sad, but perking up a little when he heard Cloud ask him something.

"So, how'd your mission go?"

"Great!" Zack said, forgetting about his previous sadness "we took down a whole fortress of Wutai soldiers!"

"That sounds exciting!"

"It was! And the best part was that I got to fight on the same team as the great hero Sephiroth!"

"Lucky," Cloud said with a hint of admiration in his voice, "I bet he was cool to watch."

"Yeah, he took out at least ten warriors with one swipe of his sword."

"Wow."

"Yeah, but Angeal was awesome too. Even with a standard sword, he sent Wutai soldiers flying!"

"I would have loved to see that!" Cloud said with a little chuckle. "I bet those Wutaians were scared out of their boots."

"Nope, they actually stood their ground pretty well," Zack said, "we lost a few 3rd class SOLDIERS though."

"Oh," Cloud replied with a tinge of sadness "anyone you know"

"Nope, not this time," Zack replied with relief. He sensed that his friend was sad, so he changed the subject, "wanna hear how I did?" Cloud seemed to cheer up at once.

"Sure."

"I didn't do as well as Sephiroth or Angeal, but I wasn't the worst one either."

"Really," Cloud said in fake surprise.

"Oh, Come on!" Zack replied "I wasn't that bad! There was this one SOLDIER 3rd class that nearly killed us all by setting off a whole barrel of gunpowder!" Cloud laughed so hard at this that he couldn't answer. "You alright, Spike?" He was worried because he hadn't ever heard Cloud laugh so heartily.

"Yea," he said through laughter "I'm fine."

"I have to go," Zack said. "Sephiroth's calling an important meeting and I can't be late."

"Ok," Cloud said, still laughing, "I'll call you tomorrow."

"Alright, I'll talk to you later Spike."

Cloud sat on his bed, still quietly chuckling to himself. He stopped when he heard footsteps approaching and saw Dustin's head poke out through the entrance of the tent. Dustin was one of the few friends he had in ShinRa.

"Shane and I want to know if you want any dinner," he said. Cloud nodded and stood up to join his friend. They walked to the tent that looked like a cafeteria and they went inside. Shane waved to Cloud as soon as he saw him and motioned Cloud and Dustin to sit next to him.

"How are you doing?" he asked them.

"I'm good," Dustin replied.

"Yeah, me too" Cloud said, "I just got off the phone with my friend."

"You mean your _boyfriend_" Shane teased

"No!" Cloud said defensively, "he's just my friend"

"Yeah, sure, that's why you're so excited to talk to him all the time." Dustin pointed out.

"Will you two stop it?" Cloud said, playfully pushing Dustin into Shane.

"Okay," Shane said, "he is not your boyfriend"

"Hey," Dustin pointed out, "what about that girl you've been telling us about."

"Who, Tifa?" Cloud asked through a mouthful of food.

"Yea that girl," Dustin replied, "ever thought of dating her?" Cloud blushed a little.

"I knew it!" Shane shouted. "You _love_ her don't you?"

"No!" Cloud said a little too defensively.

"Yes you do," Dustin remarked, "I can see you blushing from here" Cloud turned his head away from them, but his cheeks turned a deeper red than before.

"Come on," Shane said, "tell us Cloud"

"Yea," Dustin said, "do you love her or not?"

"Or maybe it's that one guy that you like" Shane said.

"I already told you that I don't have a boyfriend!" Cloud shouted.

"Maybe you do and you're trying to hide it" Shane teased some more.

"No I don't," Cloud said more angrily this time. He managed to calm down after a while though. "So what if I do like Tifa?" He asked. Dustin shrugged.

"Does she like you?" he asked.

"I don't think so," Cloud said, "She's never given me any signs."

"I think you should make the first move." Dustin said.

"Yea, hold her hand or something" Shane said.

"She's all the way in Nibelhiem," Cloud sighed, "and she's way out of my league anyway."

"You never know…" Shane pointed out

"I say that you should go for it!" Dustin shouted, "claim that pretty girl before somebody else takes her."

"How?" Cloud asked.

"Call her up and tell her how you feel." Dustin said as he patted Cloud on the shoulder.

"I don't know…" Cloud muttered.

"Go for it," Shane said, "you have nothing to lose!"

"What about my dignity?" Cloud asked "What if I make a fool out of myself?"

"How bad can you mess up when you're talking on the phone?" Dustin asked.

"Very badly," Cloud sighed, "trust me."

"Well, I still think you should talk to her" Dustin said.

"Yeah," Shane said. "How long has it been since you've had a real conversation with her?"

"Almost four months," Cloud reluctantly replied.

"Alright then" Dustin said "that should be reason enough for you to call her"

"But what if I get rejected?" Cloud asked.

"Then move on," Dustin replied.

"I don't think it would be that easy to forget about her," Cloud said, "she is my childhood friend."

"She's you're childhood friend!" Shane shouted, "I didn't know that!" Cloud nodded.

"We grew up together," he looked down at his almost empty plate of food, "although she rarely talked to me."

"Which is why it's important for you to start talking to her now," Dustin said, "you could catch up on old times and discuss memories from when you were a kid"

"You think she would like it if I talked about that kind of stuff?" Cloud asked.

"I don't know much about women, but I know that she would love it." Dustin replied. Cloud's face brightened a little.

"Alright," He said quietly, "I'll try" Of course Dustin and Shane couldn't keep quiet and they let out a cheer that caught the whole cafeteria's attention. Cloud was blushing madly and trying to find his phone. He must have left it in the tent. He hastily finished up his dinner and left his friends to head for his tent.

He never got the chance to make that call.

Within seconds the peaceful atmosphere of the camp was plunged into chaos. There were military units everywhere; firing at an enemy that Cloud could not even see yet. Then he spotted the black outline of Wutai warriors engaged in a heated battle with his ShinRa troop. There where at least fifty of them. There where dead bodies everywhere; bodies of friends and bodies of enemies. Cloud got lost in the confusion and took cover as a bullet whizzed past his face. He spotted a ShinRa brand rifle and grabbed it. He started shooting at the black figures. He saw someone standing next to him. He recognized the person as Shane.

"Are you doing alright?" Shane asked, quickly glancing at him before turning his eyes back to his targets.

"Y-yeah" Cloud replied shakily. He saw Shane nod his head very slightly. There was now a ninja coming toward him, walking like he wasn't in a big hurry. Shane had found his target and he flexed his hand on the trigger of the gun, waiting until the target came within range.

When it was finally in range, Shane shot him, but the Wutain was too quick. He raced like a blur toward Shane, sword poised and ready. Shane fired two more shots but they missed. Cloud had tried to fire a few shots too, but the ninja was too quick. In mere seconds he was right in front of Shane, and with a flick of his wrist, the sword impaled Shane.

Cloud backed away a few steps and then broke out into a run before the ninja could spot him. He refused to believe that the same friend he had been talking to moments ago was now dead. He ran fast as he could, but the ninja had already spotted him and was pursing him with the speed of lightning. Cloud couldn't possibly outrun it. The ninja's long sword sliced him across the back. He winced at the pain but was determined to keep going. He decided to run into the forest that was on the eastern side of the camp. Maybe he could lose him in the trees. When he entered the forest he noticed that a figure was following the ninja. He identified it as a ShinRa infantryman, but that was all he could make out. The ninja was finally catching up to him. He dealt Cloud a painful blow to the back of his leg and he fell to the ground. He stayed there and shut his eyes tightly, waiting for the finishing blow.

But it never came.

Something had pushed the ninja aside. From what Cloud could hear from his spot on the ground, a fight had broken out. It lasted for a few minutes until there was an eerie pause and then a loud cry. Then Cloud could feel hands picking him up and cradling him, like a rather large baby. He opened his eyes and peered straight into the familiar green eyes of his friend Dustin.

"You have to survive," he whispered to Cloud, "to tell that pretty girl that you love her."

Those were the only words he said to Cloud. Dustin put him off to the side under the shelter of a bush and faced the direction opposite of him. Cloud saw the black figure of the ninja crawl out from the bushes. Both of them were obviously suffering from heavy injuries, but both of them looked determined, like they were going to fight to the death.

They lunged at each other and Cloud squeezed his eyes shut until he heard a painful cry from Dustin. When he opened his eyes he saw a horrible sight. The ninja had impaled Dustin with his sword. An image flashed through Cloud's head; the image of Shane falling at the hands of that very same sword. He heard a gunshot and saw the ninja fall to the ground. Then, he saw Dustin fall to the ground. His rifle fell out of his hand as he fell. They were both dead.

Cloud could feel himself slipping away too. He silently wondered weather anyone would miss him if he died. He knew his mother would miss him. But would Tifa? Perhaps. . . Then there was Zack. He didn't want to think about it. It was too painful at the moment because he knew that his best friend would probably shed many tears over him. He wasn't worth it.

He felt something cold land on his cheek. He was lying on his side, curled up in a ball, but he could still see the sky. The sun was setting, painting the sky orange. He saw snow drift down from the sky and land on the ground. It was the first snow of the season. He saw the snow land on Dustin's body. Dustin's sacrifice would not be forgotten. Today he was warm and breathing, but tomorrow, he would be as cold and frozen as the snow itself.

Cloud's eyesight became blurry as tears flowed from his eyes and landed on the snow covered ground. Slowly, the outer edges of his vision started to go. Then everything went black.

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_And I'm singing Amen_

Amen I, Amen I, I'm alive  
Amen I, Amen I, Amen I, I'm alive

_If Everyone Cared- Nickelback_

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**A/N:** Hello everyone, I am starting a new Fanfic! I hope you like it. This is not a one-shot; this is a multi chapter story. I am also adding an OC in the next chapter. Sadly, Zack will not appear in person until the very end however, he will be mentioned a lot in this story. I hope everyone likes the song lyrics I put at the beginning and end of the story. I think it really ties the story together. Oh, and I borrowed Dustin from **chibipinkbunny**. She's also beta reading this story for me. Shane is all mine though :)

Disclaimer: Everybody, except Dustin and Shane, belong to Square Enix.


	2. Chapter 2

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_Show me what it's like  
To be the last one standing  
And teach me wrong from right  
And I'll show you what I can be  
Say it for me  
Say it to me  
And I'll leave this life behind me  
Say it if it's worth saving me_

_Savin' me ~ Nickelback_

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(**A/N: **The rest of the story takes place from my OC's point of view)

I stared out the window at the ground far below, mesmerized by the large expanse of white space beneath me, created by the ever falling winter snow. It was the first snow of the season, and it would usually be a joyful time for me. Normally, I would be out enjoying the cool touch of the snowflakes on my skin, but instead I was forced to sit in a cramped helicopter for hours at a time, watching the snow as it fluttered down to the ground. I sighed when I caught sight of some pine trees laced with snow. It reminded me of my hometown, Icicle Inn. My heart yearned to be back at home with my mother, but I needed to grow up and make a living for myself. That is the reason I chose this job, well that and another reason. . . .

"Are you alright Yuki?" my younger brother, Toya, called from the pilot's seat.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I hollered back to him, "Just a little homesick"

"You too," he said as he let out a big sigh, "don't worry. Soon we'll have enough money to go back home and see mom."

"Yeah," I replied, continuing to stare out the window. I worked as a medical assistant in the ShinRa army. I was in charge of finding and helping injured military units and then taking them back to ShinRa where they can be fully healed. I've been on a few recovery missions already, but nothing as large as this one. The reports say that there were more then a hundred infantrymen in the camp that was attacked.

Toya worked as a pilot, transporting goods, carrying passengers, and even hauling large equipment around in his favorite old helicopter, number 17. It was used by our father when he worked for ShinRa, which is why it is so special. Toya always used helicopter no. 17, which is the one we were in at the moment. Its blades creaked with age as they spun and a thin coat of rust covered the black paint on the outside. The inside wasn't much better. It was warm, but the furniture was coming apart and the walls were making this awful grating noise. Half the time, I had trouble believing the old helicopter could even get off of the ground.

When Toya signed up to be a pilot, he immediately asked for helicopter number seventeen, but I'm afraid it is nearing its final days. This helicopter holds so many memories for both of us, including those that my father used to tell. These memories were so clear in my head that I could almost see my father sitting next to me, looking out the opposite window. I became lost in thought until I felt the old helicopter make a rough landing.

"We're here" Toya announced. I stood up without hesitation, glad to be able to stretch after the long ride. Then I stepped out into the snow that I loved so much. I felt at home with the snowflakes falling all around me and evaporating into water as they touched my skin.

There was a lot of noise coming from the background as the rest of the helicopters landed and let their passengers out, but I ignored them. Instead I let my mind wander to a memory of when I was six**,** and I enjoyed the first snowfall of the year with my parents. I remembered catching snowflakes on my tongue and my dad picking me up and putting me on his shoulders and spinning around until we collapsed in the snow, laughing. I stuck out my tongue and let it catch a few snowflakes until a hand touched my left shoulder. Slightly startled, I looked to my left, right into Toya's friendly eyes.

"You have job to do," he pointed out. I smiled at him and he replied with a small one of his own. Then I turned toward the frostbitten camp and headed off. I stopped about halfway there. The most obvious place to look for injured troopers would be in the camp, but what if one of them strayed into the forest? The others members of the rescue team had probably headed toward the camp, so someone needed to find those that had been injured in the forest. I thought it was a good idea, so I headed toward the forest.

In the midst of the trees, I could feel their calming presence. All I saw was snow that stretched out for miles, like a blank canvas just waiting to be painted. I walked on, leaving crisp footprints in the snow. They traced my journey into the heart of the forest, where the soldiers were likely to have battled. Then I spotted something sticking out of the snow, it was gray and metallic. My heart felt like it dropped out of my chest. I walked over and picked it up. It was a ShinRa brand rifle. Engraved on the barrel of the rifle was the name 'Dustin T. Hartman'.

One of our men must have wandered into the forest. With a sense of dread, I scanned the area for an injured trooper, and I saw not just one, but two oddly shaped lumps of snow, large enough to be people. I uncovered one of the lumps to discover that it was a Wutain ninja, but the other one was a ShinRa infantryman. He had a large gash in his chest. I inwardly cringed as I thought, 'Poor guy must have been stabbed,' Carefully, I checked the boy's pulse, but he had none. He was dead. His brown hair was laced with frost and his lips had turned blue. My eyes watered up as I laid him back down in the snow. I couldn't understand why this trooper had affected me so. I have seen more casualties in a few years on the battlefield than anyone should ever see in their whole lifetime, but for some reason, this one was different. There was a smile plastered on his blue lips, as if he welcomed death, embracing it as he passed over into the next life. Then I heard a faint whimper, like that of a puppy. As I moved closer to the source of the sound, a distinct smell caught my attention: blood.

It smelled fresh, unlike the blood that gathered in pools around the two dead men, already semi-coagulated. Someone was either freshly killed or slowly getting there. One of my specialties, and the reason I was chosen as a medic, was that I had a keen sense of smell. Using both the sound and scent as my guide, I made my way over to the eastern side of the clearing. I knelt down and looked under the bush where the scent was the strongest. Poking out through the bush were several blonde spikes, which belonged to a boy of about fourteen or fifteen. He was curled up into a ball and trembling. He was wearing the distinctive uniform of a ShinRa infantryman. I could hear him faintly whimpering and his lips were already a pale blue.

I grabbed his arms and dragged him out from underneath the bush. With nothing else to warm him, I gave him my jacket. Then I quickly checked him for injuries and found a long cut on his back and a gash on his left leg, as well as a few scratches on his right side and face. I set him down on the snow and dug in my backpack for something to patch him up. I bandaged up his waist and legs, wrapping the wounds up as tightly as possible without cutting off the circulation. He'd made it this far, it'd be a shame if he bled to death on the way to a proper medical facility. As I was putting away the bandages, the boy regained consciousness.

"W-where am I?" he asked with a shaky breath, "and wh-who are you?" I walked over to him and kneeled by his side.

"I am Yuki Hihari," I replied, although I didn't think it made much of a difference if he knew my name. "I work for ShinRa. I'm here to take you back." Then in a softer voice I asked, "Are you Dustin?" The boy looked confused. He shook his head, almost imperceptible. Then, he gave out a small moan before falling unconscious once more.

I knew that I had to get this soldier back to ShinRa, his condition was unstable. I scooped the small, fragile-looking boy up in my arms and ran toward the helicopters. He was heavy, but not so much that I couldn't handle it. "Toya!" I called when I could finally see helicopter number seventeen. I saw Toya come out of the helicopter and run toward me.

"What happened?" he asked, his eyes focused on the wounded infantryman in my arms.

"He's badly hurt," I told my brother "We need to get him back to ShinRa immediately." The soldier gave an unconscious groan, almost as if to emphasize this point.

"Come on," Toya said, leading me into the helicopter, "let's get him inside." Toya climbed into the pilot's seat and I went in the back. I sat down and then set the boy in the seat next to me. I took my backpack off and pulled out my little medical book. I looked up 'frostbite'. Luckily, the soldier hadn't made it to stage two yet. He only had 'frostnip' because the top layers of his skin were affected by the cold, and he had no permanent tissue damage. I could see the boy cringing as he tried to get used to the warm atmosphere. The silence that followed was deafening. All you could hear was the creaking of the helicopter and the shallow breathing of the boy. I noticed he was still shaking, despite the warmth of the helicopter. I felt him slump against my shoulder. His shivering lessened, but not much. Then I heard him speak.

"Dustin," he mumbled.

"Who's Dustin?" I asked

"And Shane."

"Shane?"

"Dead," he mumbled. I could hear him let out a shaky breath before continuing, "Blood, so much blood. Dustin he-he…" and then he faded out again.

"He what?" I asked. I didn't get a reply back, but I heard him mumble something very faintly.

"Zack…" he said, "Dustin… Shane… Zack," and then he went silent once again. _Who's Zack? _I thought _Who's Shane? Who's Dustin? _I wondered if all three of them had died on the battlefield. Perhaps one of them was the corpse that I had found near him. A boy this young didn't deserve so much loss. Like so many others in the war, he was only a teen, some mother's baby, and perhaps some girl's sweetheart. His eyes were a natural blue, lacking the artificial glow of a SOLDIER.

"Is something wrong Yuki?" Toya asked from the pilot's seat, "You're unusually quiet."

"No," I said, although I knew that he wouldn't believe it. He paused, and I looked over at him.

"Um," Toya said, "we have a problem"

"What?" I asked franticly.

"There's something wrong with the engine, I can no longer steer the plane." My eyes widened in visible shock as the ever-present creaking of the helicopter's propeller stopped. My heart lurched as the helicopter plummeted to the ground. I got out of my seat, leaving the soldier to lie across the seat and ran over to my brother just as we made impact.

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_All I need is you  
Come please I'm callin'  
And oh, I scream for you  
Hurry I'm fallin'_

_I'm fallin'_

_I'm fallin'_

_Savin' me ~ Nickelback_

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**A/N: **Sorry about the cliffhanger, it just had to be done. My main characters name is Yuki Hihari, which mean Snow Ice Crystal in Japanese (Yuki Hi Hari) and she is a girl OC. I would like to thank **Chibipinkbunny **for beta-reading this chapter. That's about it, Bye!


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